What gives with new Riva batteries?

[rgm82]

So...I've been highly dissatisfied with the Riva 510 units that I've been purchasing from liberty flights recently, mainly with the battery capacity...I bought one of these a year ago and it worked great, exactly as advertised - I typically got a little over 2 full days of use out of it before it would kick, and when it was dead I could fully charge it in around 3 hours.
I used it so much that it eventually got totally beat up and I had to get another one...this one didn't work nearly as well - I purchased two, and one of them would usually kick before the other one was even done charging. So I sent it back and they replaced the whole system for me, and it worked great at first...but the last couple of weeks it's reverted back to the same problem, usually kicking after less than a day of use...and it takes forever to fully charge, I don't even know how long because I'm usually asleep by the time the damn light turns green.
I used to like the Riva because the battery last a while and it hit pretty hard - I work in an industry with crazy hours and it's important for me to be able to rely on a charged system for at least a full day. I also came off smoking American Spirits, so I need something with a really strong throat hit to satisfy me. The Riva still produces a strong hit and good vapor production, but it seems the battery capacity has fallen off since my original purchase. Any ideas what's going on here? Are they manufacturing these differently now, or am I just running into horrible luck with getting several faulty units in a row? Should I just try to get a better system? If so, any recommendations on a hard-hitting, long-lasting e-cig that actually works?
Thanks
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[Vchick]

Have you switched from SR to LR cartomizers?

Meant to add that I've been buying multiple kits from them for well over a year now, the site and everything I've seen says a charge lasts for about a day, depending on vaping habits.

I've never gotten a battery to last 2 days!

 

[TinyTimberGal]

What Vchick said, I've found even 2.0 ohm boges decrease battery time. Also, have you replaced the charger? I've had 2 or 3 chargers go bad so I always keep a couple of spares.

 

[rgm82]

I'm don't remember what cartomizers I've been using, but I've been purchasing the same ones for a long time, and like I said, they worked just fine with my old system...I certainly hope it's not the charger, I've only had this new system for a month, if it's already going bad than I want to find a system with less crappy chargers.

 

[rgm82]

...I guess next time I could try purchasing both SR and LR cartos and see what it does to the battery before jumping to wild conclusions, but I am pretty sure I've been using the same ones all along and didn't have any troubles with my first system.

 

[r77r7r]

I've seen a few complaints on Rivas this past week. Perhaps bad batch? The suppliers should be aware of this and maybe that might make it easier to return it. Maybe move to a Kgo- seems like they've been a good alternative around here lately. Might have to get a specific charger for them.

 

[rgm82]

What can you tell me about the Kgo, I've never heard of that one? I've also been thinking about switching to the Ego, I have a buddy who just bought one and he loves it, says the battery lasts over 3 days and it gives a pretty good hit...it's a little bulkier than I'd prefer, but if that's what it takes to get one that does what I want it to do I might be willing to deal with lugging it around.
Thinking on it further I do believe there has got to be some kind of charging issue, even if LR cartos are killing it, it shouldn't be taking 6+ hours to charge, right? I typically plug this thing in when I get home from work and it's usually not done charging by the time a go to bed...seems a little excessive, am I right?

 

[Charlz]

Liberty Flights switched their Riva supplier recently. I saw a post on it.

 

[r77r7r]

I think kgo has been the alternative to riva here for awhile, Maybe Hoosier has them? I'll look then.

Yeah 6 hrs is too long. The regular ego might not give you the same power as the riva/kgo, that's probably why it's lasting him longer.

Well, this place has them, but in the 1100 size..

hoosierecigsupply

 

[Vchick]

Doesn't sound like you're using the correct charger. Is this the one that came with your kit or from something else? I ask because in a earlier post you said you are using a different one. Threading doesn't determine what you can use to charge these batteries, chargers for a 510 slim may fit but they are not compatable for charging these style batteries.

Charging for this battery should be 2.5 hours give or take a few, I've yet to experience one that didn't charge with it's charger in this time frame. For safety sake, don't mix/match batteries and chargers, if you are trying to cut corners, you would be taking a risk, blaming the charger or battery imho isn't the issue.

 

[rgm82]

I think kgo has been the alternative to riva here for awhile, Maybe Hoosier has them? I'll look then.

Yeah 6 hrs is too long. The regular ego might not give you the same power as the riva/kgo, that's probably why it's lasting him longer.

Well, this place has them, but in the 1100 size..

hoosierecigsupply

What does 1100 size signify?

 

[rgm82]

I think kgo has been the alternative to riva here for awhile, Maybe Hoosier has them? I'll look then.

Yeah 6 hrs is too long. The regular ego might not give you the same power as the riva/kgo, that's probably why it's lasting him longer.

Well, this place has them, but in the 1100 size..



hoosierecigsupply

What does the 1100 size signify?

 

[rgm82]

@ r7rr7r: What does the 1100 size signify? I'm not totally up to speed with all the technical specs...

@ Vchick: I'm using the charger they sent me with the unit - for each system I've ordered from them I've gotten a new charger as well. I've never used another charger with any of my units, the only ones I own are the ones that come with it.

 

[rgm82]

...sorry for all the multiple posts, my computer's been acting weird or the forum's been jerking me around or something...

 

[r77r7r]

1100 is the mah, like 650. I'm not experienced with kgo's. I'd assume they are slightly fatter, longer and last longer- but with the same power of the Riva (3.7).

 

[rgm82]

1100 is the mah, like 650. I'm not experienced with kgo's. I'd assume they are slightly fatter, longer and last longer- but with the same power of the Riva (3.7).

Sorry man, you're still throwing me for a bit of a loop with the terminology...what's mah? Is that like megahertz, or what? it comes in 1100 or 650? Which is more powerful? And what does 3.7 mean? Is that voltage or something? I just want to make sure I have all these terms straight before I start looking into new systems...

 

[r77r7r]

NP, 650 is like a AAA battery, and 1100 is like a AA battery, if that helps. 3.7 is the out put voltage, like 12v on a car battery

So, the 1100 is going to perform, vapor and hitwise similar to your 650, it's just going to last a few hours longer.

If you want to go to the front pages of the ECF forums, I think they probably explain all this better.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/index.php/best-ecigarette-for-a-new-user.html

 

[DaveP]

The standard battery that came with my Riva kit is a 750mah battery. With standard atomizers/cartomizers I could get 5 or 6 hours out of a charge. With low resistance cartos (2 ohms) that went down to 3 or 4 hours.

MAH is an abbreviation for milliamp hour which is a rating that tells you the capacity of the battery. Higher numbers are better. Most people report 5 to 6 hours from a standard Riva battery.

There are 650mah, 750, 900mah, 1000mah, 1100mah, and up. Most people estimate about an hour of vaping per 100mah of battery power rating. Buy the battery with the largest MAH capacity you find, keeping in mind that they get longer with more capacity.

The Kgo uses a larger Li-ion battery that will require a new charger, but will give you longer vaping time. I don't know many who get over a day from a charge, though. To do that, you would have to be a "casual" vaper who used their ecig infrequently as in only on breaks and during the drive to work and back.

Here's a good sticky post to read. It covers what you need to know to make a good buying decision.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ed-questions-about-electronic-cigarettes.html

 

[r77r7r]

Thanks, Dave..........

 

[spider362]

First, make sure you have a 'real' RIVA. If it's a real one it will have "RIVA" printed on the smooth part of the barrel where the atomizer screws in, usually right above the switch. Knockoffs will have nothing printed on the barrel.

Second, another way to look at the size of the battery is to compare it to a fuel tank. The larger the number the more it will hold, so the longer you can use it between charges. It will also take longer to charge. Also generally, the larger the number the larger the physical size.